You have shown through your works, that it is possible to succeed without violence even with those who have not discarded the method of violence.

The letter long precedes the first atomic bombs and Einstein’s letters to F.D.R. warning of their development and use; though often discussed only in relation to the horrific events of World War II, the physicist’s opposition to violence and war was a longstanding passion for him. Einstein called his pacifism an “instinctive feeling” based only on his “deepest antipathy to every kind of cruelty and hatred,” rather than any “intellectual theory." His politics often paralleled those of fellow intellectual giant and anti-war activist Bertrand Russell (the two collaborated on a 1955 “Manifesto” for peace).

Gandhi remained an important influence on Einstein’s life and thought. In the audio clip above from 1950, he again offers generous praise for the man known as “Mahatma” (great soul). In the recording, Einstein says of Gandhi:

I believe that Gandhi’s views were the most enlightened of all the political men of our time. We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence in fighting for our cause, but by non-participation in anything you believe is evil.

Gandhi’s concept of satyagraha, which roughly translates as “devotion to the truth,” appealed to Einstein, perhaps, because of its principled stand against political expediency and for a kind of moral commitment that depended on self-scrutiny and inquiry into cause and effect. Like the counter-intuitive theories of Einstein and Russell, Gandhi biographer Mark Shepard writes that the concept of satyagraha is “a hard one to grasp”--Especially, “for those used to seeing power in the barrel of a gun.”

Comments (28)

Albert should have stuck to physics. “[N]on-participation in anything you believe is evil” is necessary to be a moral person, but patently insufficient. Should the Allies have thrown down their arms in the face of Nazi aggression?

Thousands of years before Mahatma and Albert, a far more authoritative moral imperative was issued: “You shall not stand by your fellow’s blood.”

Hanoch,
Einstein signed a letter to Franklin Roosevelt urging him to pursue research into the atomic bomb because he was afraid the Nazis would get one first. Of course the weapon was used on the Japanese, and Einstein regretted his action.

To the Hanoch person above,
Einstein started making his pacifism public after world war one because he realized something had to be done to prevent a future catastrophe. He urged citizens of all countries to refuse military service and that if enough refused, the governments could not possibly jail so many people. But with the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany, Einstein realized that refusal and disarmament was not plausible since it was clear Germany was on the verge of war and that other European nations would now be unwise to not prepare. He actually upset many peace/pacifist groups because he stopped telling people to refuse military service in the mid-1930s. He fully understood what Germany(his homeland) was capable of and new that the Allies were completely justified in stopping them. Pacifism could work well in ghandis’s case but on a global scale Einstein said it could only truly work if there was a central, global organization (like the U.N. But actually capbable of dictating nations arms and weapons and such).

To @Hanoch, I do not know if you are at all knowledgeable about what non-violence is all about though the sentence “Should the Allies have thrown down their arms in the face of Nazi aggression?” makes me think you have misinterpreted this. In Gandhi’s time when the foreign British had unleashed ruthless torture on the Indians, do you think all Gandhi told us to do is ’embrace’ our invaders and sit with our hands folded? NO. What Gandhi advocated for all his life is to oppose, to stand up for your countrymen but not using violence, which is possible, he showed us how. As he said, an eye for an eye will make the world blind. So next time you are posting a comment, at least make sure you know the fundamental conception.

From what I’ve heard, Einstein felt so guilty about being a part of the Manhattan Project that he went into depression and had to see therapists because of it. I don’t think he ever recovered from the guilt of supporting/helping create the A-bomb.

I think Ghandi said at one point nonviolence makes no sense unless you have faith in a loving God. This would tie in with the teaching of Jesus Christ.
Having a faith in a loving God I can just about make sense of non violent means against the Nazis. I think Ghandi acknowledged that millions would be killed in a campaign of nonviolent direct action against the Nazis but between 60 and 85 million were killed anyway. 3% to 4% of world population.
More than this have been killed in wars since 1945.

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Open Culture editor Dan Colman scours the web for the best educational media. He finds the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & movies you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.